Santa Versus the Snowman
by MacMhuirich
Summary: This year's SeSa for sondheimmcgeek who wanted Santa!Tim. Tim has been assigned an undercover mission...but not exactly one he'd hoped for. Of course, there'll be Tim!whump involved so not all will go well for him.
1. Strange Encounters in the Park

**Santa Versus the Snowman**

_**This was written as my SeSa for **sondheimmcgeek **and her prompts were these:**_  
_Quote **sondheimmcgeek**: "Just a couple of ideas rolling around in my head. One is maybe a Christmas party or outing that finds the team in the middle of a hostage situation or some other kind of danger. Another is Tim maybe going undercover as Santa (I love Santa!Tim ). As long as it features Tim and has some suspense to it I'm happy, so if you've got another idea that fits those requirements, I'm all for it!"_

As I'd already gone the hostage situation road for last year's SeSa (_**Snow Angels**_) for **_megeesgeek_**, I chose to come up with something different for this year's. So Santa!Tim it would be!

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Strange Encounters in the Park**_

A sharp whistle brought the big German shepherd's head up instantly, ears pricked and tail wagging in recognition of his master's voice. There was no denying this command and he broke off his pursuit of this other gorgeous specimen of...German shepherd.

Jethro had seen her at the park many times before and it wasn't the first time he'd shown an interest in her. His training had him respond to his owner's every command without complaining which was why Tim didn't really need to bother with keeping him on a leash at the park.

Jethro gave the other dog one last longing look before pivoting and bounding towards Tim, turning a happy circle around him, barking as if he had loads to tell his master...a possibility which wouldn't seem as far fetched.

Tim went down on his haunches and held out both his gloved hands to rub his dog around the ears. "Good boy, Jethro! Goooooodddd dooooggg!" He then cast an appreciative eye at the young woman who always jogged around the park at this time of the day, accompanied by the other shepherd. Looking back down at Jethro who sat faithfully beside him, panting, he could see how his companion still hadn't let go of the other dog which he kept following with his eyes.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Tim observed ruefully, remembering another time when he'd lost his heart to a girl only to see the relationship end.

A short bark was Jethro's affirmative answer, albeit it for the four-legged companion trotting beside the jogger.

They both walked on for a while until they'd reached the point where they usually made the turn towards home.

Someone came running from behind them but neither took notice of it, as there were many joggers exercising here on a regular basis; Tim being one of them to keep in shape, only not this time.

Then, there was loud, erratic breathing and the fast approaching steps were devoid of any regular rhythm. Now that was odd for a jogger. Tim turned his head toward the person, stepping aside just in case...and not a second too soon.

Years of training as a federal agent, he had the reflex to look at people; actually look at their faces, checking for signs of some particular and suspicious behavior and he was quick to recognize a man under influence of alcohol or...drugs!

Jethro had been a trained dog...until he got involved in a murder case and got shot by his present owner for attacking him – mauling Tim! - having been doped to his eyeballs with cocaine. Now, his sensitive nostrils instantly caught the whiff of the very familiar smell of narcotics. But the years of training had him patiently waiting for his master's approval to take off after the...fleeing Santa!

_What the...?_

Still running rather erratically, Santa was casting off various articles of clothing. First to go was the red and white brimmed hat, soon to be followed by the beard, the jacket. The padding also was sent airborne to land in the wake of the running man.

Tim couldn't believe his eyes but when the man started on his bulky pants, he got into action and, trusting his own eyes and Jethro's sharp senses, he gave Jethro the go-ahead and went into pursuit himself.

So, running over the grassy knoll when dusk was falling, one could see the silhouettes of...a streaker Santa in the process of some frantic undressing, a dog hard on his heels and finally a lanky man sprinting to catch up with the two ahead.

The doped Santa, of course, proved no match to a German shepherd. As he was trying to shake the pants off, he stumbled into another jogger who tumbled to the ground. Cursing after an exclamation of surprise, he was intercepted and brought down by Jethro.

Tim, seeing how Jethro was in charge of his catch, slowed down, panting, and went to help the other jogger back on his feet.

_Her_ feet.

His ex-girlfriend's feet of all feet!

"Uhm... Hey, Max..." He couldn't feel but a little awkward at the encounter.

"Tim. Well! That's quite a novel way of starting an acquaintance! Or picking up where we left off..." Maxine laughed, quite unfazed at having been run over by a Santa on drugs.

"Yeah...Well... Hi..." Tim blushed and, telling her with his eyes he first had more pressing matters to attend first, he pulled a by now hysterical and half naked Santa to his feet again and, as a precaution, bound the man's hands with Jethro's leash.

The man swayed dangerously and Tim quickly let him sit down.

He dug out his cell and made a call to the local law enforcement office to explain the odd situation and how best to get the man to the station. It was agreed the officers would join them pronto and bring the man in. Only after finishing his call did he turn to Maxine who'd been patiently waiting.

"Uhm..."

"Well..."

They'd both started talking simultaneously and now waited for the other to start. Eventually, Tim, with a wave of his hand, motioned Maxine to go first.

"Ever the gentleman, eh Tim? Anyway, that was impressive, but not near as impressive as when you saved my life when they shot at me in my own apartment," Max concluded.

Tim merely shrugged and stared at his feet.

"You know I was just doing my job, Max."

To his surprise, Maxine stepped closer and then raised her hand to touch his cheek, looking into his eyes.

"You're an amazing man, Tim," Maxine softly said.

He swallowed. "Then why did you walk away?" He couldn't quite hide the slight tremor in his voice.

This time, it was her turn to shrug. "Guess I wasn't ready..."

"Look, Max. Uhm...Gotta turn this guy over to the local force. Uhm..." He hesitated and was about to continue when she spoke.

"Time for a drink?"

He laughed. "Is that an invitation?"

She smiled. "What else does it sound like to you?"

"Uhm...Jethro, too?" Tim asked expectantly.

"Jethro, too."

Meanwhile, a police car had stopped beside them and Tim handed his prisoner over to the authorities.

"Maxine. We'll have to go down to the station to give a statement. It won't take that long," Tim said apologetically.

"That's okay, Tim," she reassured him.

With a curt nod, Tim turned towards the agent nearest to him who, by placing his hand on the prisoner's head, was helping the man duck lest he hurt himself. The other policeman had picked up the last of the Santa's garments which, after having bundled the items into a bag, he tossed in the booth before slamming it shut.

"We'll walk. See you at the station."

"No problem, sir." The officer got into the car and drove off.

Tim looked back at Maxine. "So... Right..." His eyes were alight with pleasure and hope. Keeping his eyes locked on Maxine's, he gave a slight bow, placing the palm of his right hand over his heart. "I gladly accept the invitation."

* * *

_**BTW, I don't mind feedback, you know? ;D**_


	2. Operation Snowman

**Chapter 2: Operation Snowman**

Gibbs put down the receiver and proceeded to assemble the print-outs littering his desk. These held complementary and conclusive evidence his team had gathered on a cold case they'd been working on with no active case at hand. It could wait. There were now more pressing matters to attend to.

His agents looked up expectantly.

"You can put those," Gibbs twirled his index to indicated the myriad of files spread across the desks, "away...for now. We've got a dead petty officer."

They didn't need to be told twice and in record time they had their gear packed and ready. On the way down to the garage, Gibbs apprised them of the situation.

Having arrived at the crime scene, they went about their tasks as the true professionals they were and before too long, they were on their way back to the HQ to correlate what evidence they'd gathered.

"Boss!" Tony strode into the bullpen, Tim close on his heels. "We've got something!"

Gibbs leaned back in his chair, gazing up at his two agents as Ziva set down her tea to come and stand beside Tony.

Tim had kept walking to slip behind his own desk, wasting no time to pull up the latest information relevant to the case.

"We've got a name," Tony proudly announced. "The footage from the traffic cameras located at the intersection nearest to the crime scene offered some interesting intel...and a possible suspect. It's clear our dead petty officer..." He checked his notes. "...Oliver Banks, knew this guy well. No criminal records against him, though. Now, here it comes: one anonymous witness sent us a micro SD memory card. The unfortunately grainy images on this micro SD correlated with what we already got from the captures on the surveillance cameras. A facial shot enabled us to at least identify one possible suspect."

"And this is what we found," Ziva said as the image of the suspect's rap sheet popped up on the flat screen.

"Meet Jamell Ramsey," Tim explained. "He's got a rap sheet a mile long for petty offenses, mostly, the latest entries for possession of marijuana. However, he's wanted for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute."

"But there's more," Tony said, signing Tim to show the capture from the micro SD.

Gibbs stared at the screen. "Who's the other guy?"

"That was what caught our attention, too. He walks in the same frames as Ramsey - both videos. He was too far away and we only have his back in one and something like a shadow in the other. Abby's working to enhance the images, but we fear she won't be successful." Tony shook his head. "Definitely not enough for a positive identification. All we know is that he's definitely a person-of-interest and we have reason to believe he's actually the big fish."

"Maybe if we bring Jamell Ramsey in, we will find out?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs walked to his desk.

When no one was moving, he looked up at them. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

That was enough to spur the three agents into action.

"Not you, McGee. I want you to start looking through Ramsey's records. And see what you can find on Banks. He may not have a record, but he was involved into something and got killed for it."

Tim sat down to the task. "On it, boss."

Meanwhile, Gibbs went about the task to call the XO of Banks' ship, learning nothing as the petty officer either had been extremely careful in distributing the narcotics or simply wasn't as much in the business as they'd initially thought.

Tim, on the other hand, had checked the victim's bank accounts and found traces of illegal income with transfers made to his account on a regular basis. Of course, this said nothing about his being connected to Caffery and the reason for him ending up murdered.

By then, Ziva and Tony had made it back to NCIS with Ramsey in custody.

Without too much needling, Tony and Gibbs, got what they needed. He'd been initially very scared and unwilling to answer their questions. It wasn't as much that he feared them. What his two interrogators saw in his eyes went deeper than that and it was exactly this fear for eventual retribution that had them follow a specific course of action. He knew too much and realized only too well how his life was no longer of any value the moment the Snowman learned about his arrest.

They saw he held quite a position in this game of drugs trafficking but they badly needed to get the mastermind behind this drug ring Jamell Ramsey was part of. By offering the man witness protection and a substantial reduction in serving prison time if he was cooperative, they had quickly rendered him very helpful indeed.

It didn't take Ramsey that long to understand the only thing that could save his ass was to cooperate. Soon, he admitted his involvement in protecting drug transactions and subsequently was unleashing a torrent of chatter with quite some interesting details on the runnings of this drugs network.

It soon became apparent Ramsey was not the murderer of the petty officer. PO Oliver Banks, he explained, had become greedy. According to Banks, distributing drugs in the Navy held more risks and thus merited a pay raise.

From what they'd gleaned, it looked like 'the shadow' was their prime suspect for the murder...unsurprisingly.

More importantly, they'd been able to obtain some crucial information about their 'shadow' from the video footage; the illustrious Ronald Caffery, aka the 'Snowman'.

Tim and Ziva were intently following the questioning strategies from the observation room and, as ever, they were impressed with how the Senior Agent and Team Leader manipulated their man, thus getting details essential to this investigation. It wasn't that Tim's and Ziva's proficiency was in any way wanting. They still liked to hone their own skills and neither was ashamed of admitting that there was always something they could improve.

"Why do they call him the Snowman?" Ziva wanted to know.

"That's what cocaine dealers call themselves, Ziva. Because the white powder is reminiscent of snow," Tim explained, still observing as his team members concluded the interrogation. "My guess, though, is that his name, Caffery, is no more than another alias."

She nodded as she opened the door and walked out, back to the bullpen.

After running a background check, it was soon revealed the man known as Caffery was not exactly a stranger to law enforcement. He was a reputed rogue assassin and wanted on multiple charges related to the distribution of heroin and cocaine and whatever other drugs on which he could make a fortune. He was listed as a high level dealer. They were the hardest to catch because they were so circumspect.

"Do we have physical identifiers on him?"

Tim shook his head, as did Tony and Ziva.

"We're still working on it. He's as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel."

This mere reference to a literary, and above all, movie character, had Tony going.

_"You seek him here,_  
_you seek him there,_  
_you seek him everywhere..."_

"Then, 'seek' harder," Gibbs told them.

Eventually, it became clear it wouldn't be easy to locate him and it was decided they would have to simulate a drugs transaction to capture him.

If they were lucky, Caffery might not even be aware one of his trusted men had been nabbed and served as a cooperative witness; a rat.

Once they got him securely into custody, they were confident his whole empire, built on years of running a safe network trafficking narcotics, would erode and crumble. It would be a matter of time before those directly associated with the Snowman would be rounded up and brought to justice as well.

What a glorious day that would be if they could bring down this high level drug ring, ensuring another successfully closed case on this MCRT's already excellent track record. And all that without the meddling of the DEA! That would be too good to be true.

Now, it was time to work out strategies for Operation Snowman.


	3. The Assignment

**Chapter 3: The Assignment**

"McGee!" Gibbs snapped, causing two heads to turn to the one still deeply engrossed in the information playing a carousel on his monitor.

"Maybe you should try sign language, Boss," Tony suggested gleefully, which promptly earned him a head slap.

"You wanna do it, DiNozzo?"

"Uh, no. Shutting up, Boss."

A loud whistle finally had Tim raise his head.

"You wanted to do some undercover work, didn't ya? Well, you got what you wished for."

The smirks on his team mates' faces were rather telling that this was not going to be the usual undercover assignment and he was instantly wary...and it showed on his face.

"Yyyeahhh?"

"Since we got Jamell Ramsey in custody and got him to tell us where the rendez-vous is going to be, we will need one of our own in the Mall to pose as Santa Claus."

Tim groaned. Of course he had to be the one to land this undercover assignment. Agreed, he was always willing to do anything to get the job done...but dress up as Santa Claus? Really?

"Just see it this way, Elf Lord. This assignment is simply tailored to you. You'll make a perfect jolly ol' elf! An interesting proposition if ever you saw one."

To Tim, the best thing to do was ignore the Senior Agent...like he'd done dozens of times before.

But Tony wasn't done.

"Oh! I've got an idea!" He called over to his partner. "Hey Ziva! Remind me to take a picture of Santa Tim!"

"And what are you gonna do with that pic if you get it, DiNozzo?"

Tim looked up from behind his computer and let his gaze first go to Gibbs and then to Tony, curious about his reply.

"Send it in for that Yuletide photo competition in The Bulletin, Boss?"

"Nope," Gibbs shook his head thoughtfully. "Got a better idea. Blow it up to life-size publicity for End of the Year assignments Federal Agents may get."

_Oh no... No way! Gibbs isn't really thinking this, is he?_

Tim closed his eyes as he heaved an aggravated sigh and dejectedly let his head drop in his hands, elbows resting on his desk.

Tony, of course, had caught Tim's reaction and rather enjoyed his friend's distress.

"Why, that's a great idea, Boss!"

Ziva merely snickered.

"Don't think so. Get some work done, DiNozzo."

Gibbs took in his youngest agent's air of dejection. He knew how McGee craved for a covert operation. And he also realized this one wasn't what his agent had envisioned. In fact, Gibbs had been more tempted to pass this one on to DiNozzo who happened to be the team's joker. And yet, he'd chosen McGee. He now felt the urge to slap himself for thinking he couldn't pass on this opportunity himself to have some fun at McGee's expense. If he didn't manage to keep DiNozzo in check, the senior agent would never let McGee live it down.

That settled it. He'd have a chat with McGee...and after that, another one with his Senior Agent.

Willing Tony to shut up with one look in his direction, Gibbs snapped his fingers in front of Tim's face.

"McGee, my office. Now."

Tim reluctantly pushed his chair back from his desk and slowly lifted himself from it to follow the team leader to the elevator. He took great care to not look at the others. Tim just couldn't bear their smirks which he was sure would be all over their faces.

What had he thought? That he would ever get this one undercover assignment that would at last prove to the others that he's worthy of their respect; prove he was tough enough to handle any situation. With this job, he now saw his chances of ever becoming their equal dwindle like snow in the sun. To them, to the Team Leader in particular, he could never hack it.

As he headed for the elevator, he didn't notice his team mates' worried looks.

It was only when the doors had closed behind him, that they broke the sudden, uncomfortable silence, starting with Ziva.

"Tony...how could you..."

He held up his hand and then looked hard at her.

"Don't you start, Ziva," he snapped. "I know, okay? I know I should've kept my big mouth shut. Pro... Tim's been hoping to land an undercover assignment for such a long time. But it's always the two of us who draw the straw with him always ending up in the sidelines. So he always has to contend himself working his magic as our tech guy. Oh, we so comfortably rely on his technical hocus-pocus with which he just runs rings around all of us...including the guys at Cyber Crime Unit."

"And that is how we mainly see him: our technical support..."

Tony nodded gravely.

"That about sums it up... We often conveniently forget the times we are all together in action, and how he also has our backs."

"So what shall we do about it?"

"I can't just go to Gibbs and ask him to let me take this assignment."

Ziva gave a derisive snort. "As if! Do you really think this will help McGee? You'll make him look even more...more..."

"Stupid?"

"Yes. No! That is not what I meant. You know what I mean! He will see it more like a...a... Like a slight on his abilities."

"Oh, c'mon, Ziva," Tony replied. "Now you're exaggerating."

"Really? I would think you already know how his mind works. If you take it from him now he will think you did this because you cannot even trust him with this simple, if ridiculous, mission."

"It's neither simple nor ridiculous," Tony replied, angered by her trivializing this assignment.

"Okay! It is not. Aarghh! I cannot explain this very well in English."

Ziva sprang up from her chair and started to pace in the aisle that separated her desk and Gibbs' from Tony's and Tim's.

She stopped and pivoted to face Tony again. "It is...you know...the Santa outfit and how both you and Gibbs joked about it."

Tony crossed his arms and nodded. "It's not like you didn't find the situation amusing yourself. Anyway, this Santa idea is what made him uncomfortable, I know."

She was at his desk in one stride and planting her hands on the top, she almost loomed over him.

"Exactly! And you made it all worse than it already was for him. Like a joke."

"So you tell me again why it's wrong for me to do it myself? Eh?"

"I told you already."

"Yeah, yeah. The slight, I know. But there's more, isn't it?"

"It will come across as if we do not trust him to work undercover."

-o0o-

Meanwhile, in the elevator.

"Okay, Tim. I'm listening."

"-"

"So you're gonna play mute? Talk to me."

Tim slowly looked up, frowning, his eyes still not meeting Gibbs'.

"It's...uh..."

"You think we'll...Tony'll make fun of you for dressing up like Santa."

Now Tim did look right in his eyes rather defiantly. "Yeah. And you know full well he will."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

Tim huffed and turned away again, stepping close to the wall to lean against it, resting one hand on the rail.

"Hey!"

"You know he always does. He's been hazing me and pulling my leg from day one, Boss. And you've always allowed it. Condoned it." He pauzed when he saw Gibbs fidget uncomfortably, which surprized him. "Oh, I've grown used to it, and he's 'grown out of it' but there are still times when..."

"It just gets to you, doesn't it?"

"I guess it does," Tim sighed rather annoyed at himself because he had to admit it still did.

He pushed himself off the wall to stand face to face with Gibbs.

"But Santa! Why Santa? Why me? And don't you start on the 'you so badly wanted to get an undercover assignment' crap," Tim boldly told the team leader. "You never thought of me the other times. So why specifically now? When this is over, it'll be all for Tony and Ziva again...until you need somebody to dress up like...like...Minnie Mouse or a Leprechaun!"

"Tim, believe me, I didn't think of that when I chose you."

"I find that hard to believe, Boss."

"All right. I may have thought about when you busted that doped up Santa in that park, last week," Gibbs admitted.

"What?"

"You heard me," Gibbs said coolly.

"That landed me this undercover Santa job?"

"I didn't mean anything wrong by it. It is just part of the job. Nothing more. And I promise you this: Tony won't make any jokes about this. But..." Gibbs, thought for a second. "Look. If you don't want to do it, I'll ask Tony. There'll be other chances."

He made to turn on the switch again but was halted by Tim's restraining hand on his arm.

"No. I'll do it. You're right. It's part of the job and there'll be other times and other situations." Taking his hand off Gibbs' arm, he gave a wry smile and shrugged. "I'll survive...all the jokes."

Tim gave a little nod towards the switch and Gibbs hit the release, setting his office moving again.

"Let's get the job done, Boss."

Gibbs gave him a pat on the back. "You'll do fine, Tim. Just fine."

When they both stepped out of the 'office', they found a beaming Ducky standing between Tony and Ziva's desks. From his expressive face, they could deduce he'd already been briefed about Tim's job as the 'ole elf'.

Turning around at the ding, Ducky promptly embarked on the recitation of a poem.

_"He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,_  
_And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot._  
_A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,_  
_And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack;_  
_His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!_  
_His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry..."_

Tim rolled his eyes and let the laughter of the others drift over him. Then he smiled himself and gave a slight shake of his head before turning to his computer.

"We're good, Elf Lord?" Tony teased as he came over to his partner's desk to give him a pat on the shoulder.

Tim looked up at Tony, raising a speculative eyebrow. There was nothing but good, healthy camaraderie to be detected in the older agent's demeanor.

"Sure."

"You'll be okay, bro. We're gonna kick the Snowman's ass."

But Tim still had a bad feeling about this sting.

"I don't really think this is a good idea."

"Hey, Probie. Still got second thoughts about playing Santa? "

Of course that was part of the reason behind his doubts, but there was more and he turned away from Tony to stare vacantly at his computer screen, chewing on his lip.

Meanwhile, Ziva had joined Tony at Tim's desk.

"Why the rendez-vous at the Mall? Just think of the risks! All these people! It's the week before Christmas and the Mall will be crowded with Christmas shoppers and kids wanting to see Santa!"

The three of them fell silent.

"Because those were Caffery's instructions to Ramsey and there's no time to come up with a plan of our own. Besides, nobody speaks up against the Snowman. If we suggest a different location, he'd know something's up."

That, they understood. It would be suspicious.

"Soooo... What now?" Ziva asked after a long time.

Tim, though, was already engrossed in his computer and he looked up a little distractedly. "Uh? Oh! Doing some last-minute research on the job of Father Christmas. Then, I'll need to mentally prepare myself to the task. I'll sure need my wits about to pull this one off. There'll be the abominable Snowman getting the merchandise and then probably want to dispatch me straight to Valhalla...er...whatever place dead Santa's go to. And then there'll be the distracting Christmas crowd getting in the way with over stressed parents trying to get a picture with their hysterical and hyper kids on my lap. Ho-ho-ho-hooo! Nothing to worry about!" Tim concluded sarcastically.

They all agreed it wasn't the best place for this meeting with a ruthless killer and mastermind behind a drug ring. If they wanted to nab their man in this sting operation without any collateral damage, the most pressure would be resting on Tim.


	4. Mommy! He killed Santa!

**Chapter 4: Mommy! He killed Santa!**

Tim was being helped into the padding and a bright red suit. Then, grunting mightily, he pulled on a pair of shiny black boots. The next item he had to put on was Santa's flowing white beard which elicited the usual and expected jokes from Tony. As he applied a good amount of spirit gum to fix it on, he heard corresponding laughs from the others.

Abby was busily doing a photo shoot "because I love Santa!". Tim had been looking daggers at her, only relenting somewhat when she reassured him...swore to him...the pictures would never be for public use.

"Except for your own future family. Your kids will love them...when they are a bit older," Gibbs grinned.

"Provided you find yourself a girl and have kids together," Jimmy nodded gravely as he adjusted the wig, not noticing Tim's frown.

Once Ziva started pasting on the white eyebrows he couldn't even do that anymore, and had to just sit stoically enduring the banter all around him.

Worse, he was feeling decidedly hot in the costume.

"Hmmm..." Ziva pondered, blush brush at the ready. "I do not think I will have to use extra blush on you, McGee, will I? You already look pretty flushed to me."

A deep growl emerged from Tim's throat and his green eyes were blazing.

Lastly, he was given a package of heroin which, according to the instructions given to the man in custody, he was to carry in a special, otherwise nondescript jute bag.

They arrived at the superbly decorated shopping mall where Christmas shoppers were out in numbers and moved about like ants, occasionally bumping into others.

Tim incongruously imagined what would happen if one of those brainless blonds were walking her tiny Chihuahua in this mad Christmas shopping rush and he crushed the tiny beast by inadvertently stepping on it. He watched the ground as he waded through the throng, expecting any moment to stumble upon something resembling a Chihuahua pizza.

He giggled nervously at this crazy image and then gulped, walking on to his designated throne in the Atrium.

There was a blaring cacophony of all different Christmas tunes coming from all over the place.

Tim squeezed his eyes shut to the assault of his senses. Oh, for crying out loud! How was he – were they – ever going to be able to catch the elusive Snowman in this crowd?

Vexed, he rubbed at his scratchy beard.

"C'mon, McGee," Tony hissed in the mike. "Use your bell! Ring it and say the words! Ho-ho-ho-hooo! There's nothing difficult about that! So DO it!"

Tim swallowed and, pushing his spectacles back up his nose, held up his bell and rang it loud, whilst his other hand kept a firm grip on the jute bag. Immediately the crowd edged aside to let him through.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Hooooo!"

He groaned inwardly and found the urge to roll his eyes overwhelming. Man! This whole business was ridiculous beyond words. He squared his shoulders and plastered a smile on his face.

Before he knew it, he was sitting on his throne with a screaming child thrust onto his lap, testing his patience to its limits as he endeavored to calm the squirming kid. To no avail. The mom, with an apologetic look at him, took her child back and accepted the candy cane Tim had pushed in her hand. Before the mom and her kid had blended in with the crowd, Tim saw the kid happily suck on the sweet, all tears forgotten.

The elves assigned to him had many children lined up to sit on Santa Tim's lap. Mostly, the kids excitedly related how good they were when he asked them if they had been nice or naughty, and, in spite of the inward stress, he enjoyed bringing happy smiles to their little faces when gifting them the candy canes.

One boy, though, gave a hearty tug at his beard which hurt a little. Luckily, the thing had been spirit-gummed on as a precaution to curious kids' prying little fingers checking if the beard was real.

A little 6 year old girl spent a considerable time on his lap, rattling of her entire list of wishes whilst her mother proudly stood nearby shooting endless pictures. Meanwhile, he cautiously looked around for the suspect known as the Snowman. He didn't want to be caught off-guard.

Suddenly, he was jerked back from checking the perimeter for the Snowman when the the girl, still on his lap, had fallen silent and now was looking up with expectation from her extensive list.

Nodding to the list, Tim asked: "Can I keep the list?"

She slowly shook her head and clutched the list to her chest.

Another two hours of this and Tim was allowed to take a break as the elves assured the audience Santa would be back in half an hour.

He took up the jute bag and followed one of his elves to a break room, letting his eyes drift over the crowd, observing nothing but seemingly innocent-looking people.

The break gave him the opportunity to have a glass of water and close his eyes, suffusing some of the latent tension. He never could have dreamed how taxing it could be to handle an excited bunch of kids.

Alone, Tim whispered in his concealed microphone. "No trace of the Snowman, boss."

"Easy does it, Tim," Gibbs softly spoke. "Our quarry may already be around, surveying. He'll have figured out by now that Ramsey has spilled the beans. Stay alert. He's dangerous."

"What makes you so sure he would do something with all those kids around?"

"He uses the kids and the crowd to his advantage, knowing how to hide in plain sight. Caffery will want to blend in with the crowd."

"We'll have to act fast when he shows up."

"Not until he's taken hold of the merchandise," Gibbs reminded him. "Just keep an eye on your surroundings. I know it's not easy with all those kids, but continue to do as you've been doing."

Heading his boss' words, Tim kept his calm and decided to take things slow and pay more attention to his surroundings as unobtrusively as possible.

Suddenly feeling antsy to be back at the task, he finished his bottle of water and weaved his way back to his throne.

Tim was inwardly nervous as he knew he was being watched by Caffery. He had to be there, waiting for the opportunity to strike out.

More kids had hopped on and off his knees and still nothing happened. He'd covertly looked about but the Snowman was either invisible or well camouflaged.

Then, he saw him. He'd accidentally make eye contact. It was him. In an attempt to create the impression he was looking at a girl calling and waving at a friend, and conveniently standing behind the man, Tim let his eyes slide off his quarry to focus on her instead. He didn't want to let Caffery know he'd been made.

Now, a young boy was placed on his lap, kindly asking for a truck with a remote control. Tim solemnly promised he would take care of the boy's wish and dug in a bag for a candy cane, using the moment to communicate the detection of their quarry.

"Boss. He's here."

Gibbs acknowledged and Tim offered the waiting kid the candy cane with a broad smile, whilst another part of his brain went looking for the next course of action should it come to blows with the Snowman with all these people around.

The boy hopped off his lap and, taking a hold of his mom's hand he contentedly licked at the sugary candy as the two of them walked away.

Caffery sneaked closer until he stood at Tim's left.

"Hello Ramsey? I think you've got something for me?" Tim involuntarily felt a chill at the deceptively suave voice. He dug in the box for the package and handed it over to the dealer.

Before Tim had time to register what was happening, the Snowman, taking hold of the package, jabbed a knife into Tim's back, whispering, "this is for being a rat, Saannn-taaa." With that parting shot, he took off, slipping away through the anonymous and unsuspecting, swirling mass of people.

Something like an electric current surged through Tim's body. Shaking his head dazedly at the swiftness of the attack and grimacing at the pain, Tim spoke in the hi-tech micro located beneath his beard.

"He's got the stuff, Boss. He…" He swallowed and continued. "He's…heading your way."

"Roger, McGee," Gibbs curtly confirmed.

Well, he was done with the kids. Time to vacate Santa's throne.

He carefully levered himself off the throne, barely able to stifle a grunt. When he tried to stand up, however, he lost his balance and fell back, his back hitting the chair. He let out a painful hiss as he felt how the inadvertent movement had knocked loose the embedded blade. The knife skittered to the floor behind the throne; out of sight.

Trying again, he finally got on his feet. A little dizzy,he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and swallowed. It helped, but there was a weakness in his legs and he was so weary he wanted to lie down. Alas, for the time being, this was out of question. No sleeping on the job. Besides, he still had an assignment to finish.

"Uhm…" Tim gave a small, painful cough as he addressed the elf who was helping him out with handing out sweets to the kids. "I'm…not feeling very well. C…could you excuse me for a moment, please?"

The elf nodded mutely and stared after Santa as he went after the Snowman, or at least, in the general direction the man had fled.

The knife hadn't gone all the way in since Tim, wary of the man's intentions, had had the reflex to pull away at the critical moment as the knife sank deeper through the layers of clothing. It still stung like hell and he felt the warm wetness run down his back. Breathing was becoming more labored, so he was sure the man still had nicked his lung trying to get at his heart.

He had just managed to push through a sea of bodies throwing thousands of questions at him as to why he was leaving or where he was going, when he found himself face to face the Snowman who'd come his way again trying to outrun Gibbs. There was a look of surprise followed by anger and an evil smirk as he raised a gun, aiming it at the agent.

Aw crap! What could he do with all these people behind him taking over as unwilling targets if he stepped aside? He was too close, anyway.

Bracing himself for the impact he was sure would come, Tim closed the distance to The Snowman and dove towards the man, trying to get a hold of the gun and raise it up and away from any potential victims. His action threw the other off balance and sent him crashing into the railing. The shot made no casualties as it went wide as Tim had hoped and expected.

There was a commotion among the Christmas shoppers as they saw Santa scuffling with another man. In the pandemonium, the panicked crowd ran from the place and blocking the rest of the team as they frantically tried to get to their man struggling with their quarry.

Meanwhile, the two antagonists struggled and grappled for the gun when a shot rang out. The bullet shattered the glass of the glass railing, sending both men airborne and crashing down into the basement-level food court.

As Tim fell,...he felt a calm as if knowing he couldn't escape his fate. Staring up he saw the receding broken glass railing and the trail of scattered fragments of glass following him on his downward trajectory. And beyond that, he could see Gibbs lean over an undamaged part of railing and he imagined he could see anguish; hear him yell something but there was no way he could understand anything of it, detached as he felt.

It seemed to take forever as if everything moved in slow motion. Too slow.

On the way down, he struck something which partly broke his fall - he didn't know what - and finally Tim landed on his back… To his utmost surprise, his fall hadn't been as hard as he'd thought it would be.

Staring skyward…or rather 'roofward', he saw particles of white fall down.

_Snow?_

He blinked and squinted.

Under him, he felt something wriggle and in his dazed state, he couldn't think of what that might be except that it freaked him out a little bit. With a loud and long groan, he rolled over and found the source of the movement under him had been the Snowman!

Both men had landed on a snowy display of a winter wonderland in true Christmas style.

As he was feeling increasingly weak and fatigued, he still struggled to get on his feet. He had an arrest to make. Finish the job once and for all. It really wouldn't do to rest until he'd busted the Snowman.

Panting, and blinking to clear his fading vision, he grabbed hold of a 3 ft artificial fir tree and, stepping one foot on the Snowman's butt, he jabbed the tree against the man's back, gasping the Miranda rights.

The artificial snow was settling around the two antagonists.

From the corner of his eye, the exhausted and hurting agent could see his team weave their way through the throng as they hurried to his aid and, all strength having drained, he collapsed in the soft snow.

Right before the lights went out, Tim heard the frantic shout of a small kid. His eyes somehow found the source: a boy, having witnessed the altercation between Caffery and Santa, pulled his mother over to the glass balustrade, pointed a shaking little finger to the two still forms below.

"Mommy! Look! He killed Santa!"


	5. We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

**Chapter 5: We Wish You a Merry Christmas!**

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Hoooooo!"

Tim, dozing, one hand on a book which lay open and abandoned on his chest, was brutally started awake.

He couldn't help it when his body seized up at...Santa Claus' sudden and rather booming presence, the book clattering to the floor.

Good God! His poor heart!

Tim looked up briefly before closing his eyes again to pinch his nose, trying to regain his composure.

Santa waited a little and then gleefully rang his bell.

"Excuse me, but I think you're on the wrong ward, Santa. The pediatric ward is..."

"Santa's here with some Christmas presents for you, so you'd better behave and better not pout," Santa announced cheerfully.

A little too cheerful, Tim thought. Still, if he was to be honest, he had to admit he appreciated Tony's efforts.

Christmas during a spell at a hospital wasn't much of a Christmas, even if he realized full well so many others were worse off than him.

"What!" Unfortunately, that came out a little more snappy than he'd intended.

Luckily, Tony was quite unfazed and with a chuckle and a smile towards Ziva, who'd joined him into the hospital room, he waved a brightly decorated parcel.

"Tony..." Tim's eyes widened when recognized Ziva as Santa's Elf.

"How did you know it was me?" The Senior Agent asked, a little disappointed.

Tim rolled his eyes as he relaxed against his pillow again.

"Never mind, Tim. Here's your present anyway...because Santa enjoys seeing you pout," and he continued, shaking his index finger when he noticed Tim's telltale glare. "Ah-ah-ah! I didn't say "glare"!"

"Oh give him the parcel, DiNozzo," Gibbs said from his position at the door where he leaned casually against the jamb. Pushing himself off, he calmly walked inside. After submitting his youngest agent to a once-over and, satisfied, he set one of the two coffees he'd brought over on the bedside table. "Thought you could do with one… Hospital coffee sucks." Then he grabbed a chair and sat down at the table by the window from where he could watch his team, relishing the fact they were still together, even if one was a little battered after the past days' events.

"Come on, Timmy!" Abby positively hopped, pretty much like a bunny about to sit down to a feast of the most succulent carrots. She never was one to show even the smallest amount of a patience. "Open it! There's more!"

As he unwrapped the parcel, Elf Ziva passed out snacks to all present with an extra big bag of more of Tim's favorite goodies for her partner.

Tony continued unloading presents and adding them to the growing mountain on Tim's bed.

Jimmy uncorked a bottle of champagne whilst Ducky arranged some plastic flutes on the table. They had, of course, asked permission from the medical staff to do all this. After all, it was Christmas and one of their own was so unfortunate to be confined to a hospital bed. It stood to reason he was more than a little entitled to enjoy this Holy Night, too, spending it with his friends.

Finally, his fingers had extracted the presents from their wrappings and his face lit up like a child's.

"I…I'm…" He swallowed. "I don't know what to say." Some of the items, the vintage comic books, were more than welcome. He knew he would also geek about the two action DVD's and a computer game. He'd caught Tony's anxious glance - and then relief - towards the Mass Effect 3 Special Edition game box Maxine had brought him, earlier today.

As for the other presents…like the Captain America shield and Spiderman figurine… Well… He didn't quite know how to react to those. What was he to do with...toys?

"We thought you might like this," Tony grinned. He reached over towards the tray with sweet delights perched on the bed beside Tim, selected a slice of stollen and stuck it in his mouth.

"Mmm... These are sooooo GOOD! Should try one, Tim."

Tim beamed as he held up some comics.

"Thor? "Trial of the Gods" and "The Fate of Balder"? And the special 350th! How…"

"With a little help from Jimmy, of course," Ziva added.

"What geekier surprise could there be?" Abby laughed and bent over for a kiss on his forehead, at the same time lovingly stroking his now bright pink cheek.

Tim skimmed through the pages, shaking his head as he marveled at the pains his friends had taken to find him such special gifts.

"I missed those in my collection…" He chuckled a little. "Not that I'll ever have the complete collection, anyway. Thanks, guys!"

He then turned over the shield in his hands with a doubtful look, and, furrowing his brow, he mutely demanded an explanation.

"The shield's for protection against the baddies and I'm sure you wished you were Spiderman when you went so…ungraciously over the balustrade." Jimmy explained, his cheeks turning slightly red as well.

Tim looked at every single one of them. He was moved. Very deeply so.

"Thank you. Thank you all."

He took a sip of his coffee. Mmmmm… His favorite: a double half-cap Sumatra blend with a twist of , he peered up at Santa Tony and with a little nod, he pointed to Tony's outfit.

"And…what's the story behind this?"

"That's because he lost the bet," Gibbs obliged, dumping his empty cup in the trash.

"What bet?"

"The one about you pulling off this assignment or not. If you did, Tony would have to dress up as Santa. Of course, we hadn't planned on you staying in a hospital this Christmas."

"And since we already knew none of us would be spending Christmas at home with the family, anyway…" Tony shrugged.

"Except for Director Vance…" Ziva went on.

"…his wife, Jackie… Let's say she's given him an ultimatum," Tony concluded with a wink.

They all laughed, including Tim who couldn't quite suppress a wince.

He looked at his friends as the banter went on. He had been genuinely happy when they had surprised him with gifts at his bedside. It felt good to be surrounded by friends on this night.

His gaze traveled over to the window sill on which Abby had decorated a small, artificial Christmas tree. "Christmas just can't be Christmas without a Christmas tree, Timmy."

So all the team had stayed with him, passing an enjoyable and entertaining evening with Christmas caroling and reminiscing about some rather amusing cases from the past until they all, except for the by now flagging Tim, got kicked out long after visiting hours.

On the nightstand, there was one very special item, one of the presents: a large, framed photo of Tim as Santa kicking the "Snowman's" butt and a newspaper clipping, hailing Father Christmas of his heroic act.

Outside, snow was falling.

A _white_ Christmas.

**Merry Christmas.**

* * *

_This was the final chapter. I thank my loyal reviewers as well as all who have followed/favorited this story._  
_There'll be another** SeSa 2012 story **coming up soon:** "From Victim to Survivor".**_

_After that... We'll see what the future brings._  
_I've been blessed with some loyal readers/reviewers/friends here on :** gottahavemyncis, JazzieG, **** stareagle, ****alix33, ****Gunner'sDream, ****Corala, Optimisticat, DS2010. **Please forgive me if I left anyone out. Thanks for your support and kind words!  
_


End file.
